Shelly B Figured Out

08/09/2026

Not all revenue is equally useful.
When we look at sales, it is tempting to assume that a bigger number automatically means the business is doing better.
But the quality of that revenue matters too.

Try looking at one of your main sources of income through these four questions:

💜 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝: Has the money actually been received?

💜 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: Is enough left after the cost of delivering the work?

💜 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: Is this likely to happen again?

💜 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: Can the business fulfil it without putting too much pressure on cash, capacity or the owner?

There is no requirement for every piece of revenue to score perfectly on all four.
The value is in knowing what you are working with.
That awareness can help you decide which clients, services or revenue streams are worth pursuing more intentionally.

👉 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮. 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩?

07/09/2026

“We just need more sales.”
It is an easy conclusion to reach when the business feels financially tight. 😅
And sometimes, more sales genuinely are part of the answer.
But not always.

If the underlying issue is low pricing, shrinking margins, growing expenses, poor planning or the owner continually being last in line to get paid, increasing revenue does not necessarily solve the problem.
Sometimes it simply makes a bigger version of the same business.

A more useful question is:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞?
That changes the conversation.
Because once you know where the pressure is coming from, you can make a much more intentional decision about what needs attention next.

👉 The next time you catch yourself thinking “we need more sales”, stop and identify the problem you want those sales to fix.

06/09/2026

“It’s only 10%.” 😅

Until it becomes 10% here, 10% there and “a little something” for the client who asked nicely.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with offering a discount.
The issue is that while the selling price goes down, most of the cost of delivering the work stays exactly where it was.

Before reducing a price, ask:
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧?

A discount can be strategic.
It just shouldn’t be invisible.

05/09/2026

A price can cover the job and still fail to cover the wider business.

You might have covered the materials and the direct cost of delivering the work.

But the business also has software, admin, marketing, rent, planning time and plenty of other costs that aren’t neatly attached to one invoice.

And somewhere in the equation, the owner needs to be rewarded too. 💜

So instead of only asking whether a job made money, ask:
Did it contribute enough towards the business as a whole?

If this is the kind of financial thinking you want to get more confident with, you can find out more about Business Foundations here:

https://figuredout.co.za/business-foundations-registrations/ 💜

04/09/2026

Most of us build a business while learning how to run one. 💜
So some lessons arrive through experience.

A price that was too low.
An expense that stretched the business further than expected.
A month where everyone got paid except you.

Experience teaches us a lot.
But every financial lesson doesn’t have to arrive through trial and error.

Business Foundations is a practical five-session programme for women business owners who want to understand the financial side of their business better and make more intentional decisions with what they learn.

📍 Syringa Café, Bromhof
📅 Starts 6 October
🗓 Registrations close 30 September

If you’re ready to stop learning every financial lesson the expensive way, you can find out more and register here:

https://figuredout.co.za/business-foundations-registrations/ 💜

03/09/2026

A useful month-end review should do more than tell you what happened last month. 📊
It should help you notice what is 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Maybe customers are taking a little longer to pay.
Margins are gradually moving.
Fixed costs have crept up.
Or one customer is becoming responsible for more of your total revenue.

None of those things necessarily means something is wrong.
But recognising them sooner gives you more time to investigate, respond and make intentional decisions.

Accurate information matters.
Understanding what that information is telling you matters too.

02/09/2026

Your biggest client can be one of the best things that has happened to your business. 💜

But if they represent a large percentage of your total revenue, that is also something worth understanding.

Ask yourself:
𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔?

Would you have enough time to replace the revenue?
Could the business still carry its commitments?

Having a large client isn’t the problem.
Being heavily dependent on one relationship without realising it is where the risk sits.

01/09/2026

My favourite Friday of the month!

🌸 BLOOM WITH PURPOSE 🌸

Spring is here, and it’s the perfect time to pause, connect and ask ourselves: What are we blooming into? 🌷

Join us for our September Sisterhood Networking Breakfast on Friday, 18 September, featuring our inspiring speaker Alita du Plessis, who will share an uplifting and empowering message on “Bloom with Purpose.” 🌺

✨ Event Details
📅 Friday, 18 September
⏰ 09:00 – 11:00
📍 Syringa Cafe, Randburg
💗 Members: R180
🌸 Non-members: R220

Book Your Seat https://sacbw.org/product/johannesburg-network-event/

And ladies… let’s bring the SPRING energy! 🌼💐
Dress in your brightest spring colours or beautiful floral prints and let’s fill the room with colour, joy and sisterhood!

Come ready to connect, be inspired, grow and BLOOM with purpose. 🌺✨

📣 RSVP by 17 September to secure your spot!

We can’t wait to see you there! 💕

01/09/2026

The laptop dies. 💻
A supplier increases their price.
Something unexpectedly needs repairing.
Business throws things at us sometimes.

But if every unexpected cost immediately means deciding what other payment now has to move, there may be something more useful to notice than the expense itself.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐞𝐭.

That isn’t something to be ashamed of.
It’s information.
And recognising the pattern gives you somewhere practical to start.

31/08/2026

A business can grow and become 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 🌱

More revenue often brings more commitments with it.
Staff. Software. Stock. Premises. Equipment. Monthly repayments.
From the outside, the business may look stronger than ever.

But if one quieter month, a delayed customer payment or an unexpected expense immediately creates pressure, the business may actually have less financial flexibility than it had before.

That doesn’t make growth bad.
It simply means there is another useful question to ask:
𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫?

Sustainable growth should eventually create more room to breathe, not only more monthly commitments.